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New York Times - Ships and Shipping

Thursday, 25 July 2013

Costa Diadema Cruise Ship, Italy

Costa Diadema (also known as Costa Tiara) is a new cruise ship being built by Fincantieri at its Marghera shipyard in Venice. The construction of the vessel commenced in 2012. The new cruise ship is slated for delivery to its owner Costa Cruises in October 2014. It is the tenth ship to be delivered by Fincantieri to Costa Cruises.

Costa Diadema will be the largest cruise ship to fly the Italian flag. The vessel will sail on its maiden voyage in November 2014 from Venice to Savona. Its itineraries will include Rome, Florence, Barcelona, Palma, Majorca, Civitavecchia and La Spezia. The estimated cost of building the vessel is €550m ($734.5m).

Dimensions and capacity of Costa Diadema cruise ship

Costa Diadema will have a length of 306m and a breadth of 37.2m. The vessel will be capable of accommodating 4,947 passengers and 1,253 crew members. She will have a gross tonnage capacity of 132,500t.

Cruise ship construction

The first block of the vessel's hull was laid in December 2012. The building block measures 29m in length, 15.7m in width, and weighs about 504t. Around 3,500 workers and 400 contracted suppliers are expected to be involved in the construction of the ship.

Costa Diadema cabins, suites and facilities

Costa Diadema will feature 1,862 cabins to accommodate its guests. The cabins will include 130 in the wellness area, 756 with a private balcony, and 75 suites. A private balcony will be included in 64 suites, while 11 suites will be located in the wellness area.

A major attraction of the vessel will be the Samsara spa covering an area of about 7,800m² and located on four floors. The Samsara spa will feature a gym centre, a spa, a sauna, a thalassotherapy pool, a Turkish bath, a steam room and a solarium.

The ship will feature three swimming pools including one with a retractable roof, a multisports pitch, eight hot tubs, and an outdoor jogging track.

The vessel will also feature a library, a shops gallery, Squok Club, and a baby pool.

Restaurants and bars

The new Italian cruise ship will feature seven restaurants including the Tappanyaki restaurant, Pizzeria Piazza Pizza, Samsara restaurant, Sissi restaurant, Scudo restaurant, and Club Restaurant Diadema. The Samsara restaurant will provide free dinner and lunch for guests in the Samsara cabins.

The vessel will be equipped with 15 bars including Brewery the Flame, the Vinoteca Huit-Huit, the Proseccheria Bubbles Bar, Gelateria Amarillo, and Grand Bar Orlov.

Entertainment facilities aboard Costa Diadema

The cruise ship will feature a 4D cinema hall, theatres on three levels, casino, disco, country rock club, and internet point. The vessel will also feature a videogame area on two decks with laser game, laser shooting, and video games.

Other attractions include a grand prix driving simulator, and a pool deck with retractable glass roof and giant screen.

Propulsion and engines

The ship will be equipped with six Wärtsilä 12V46 main engines with an output of 75,600kW.

General Electric (GE) will supply six alternators for the electrical generation system and high-voltage switch boards with a power capacity of 11kV including transformers and thruster motors for the propulsion system.

The company will also supply four transformers, converters, and two low-speed propulsion motors.